Random Boxes
by the-circle-of-stupidity
Summary: "You burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon," he growled, pressing his face against the bars. His eyes flicked to Claudia, his head snapping around to follow. "And you! You will meet a fate worse than any. Don't trust the big blue box!" 10/Rose
1. Chapter 1

**Right, so, believe it or not, the inspiration for this, came from a doodle I did on a math paper. Actually, many doodles, two of the TARDIS, one of a Dalek (which I think turned out the best) a weeping angel, and a failed attempt at a cyberman. My mind works in strange ways...needless, to say, I didn't get that paper done...**

chapter 1

Andrew Smyth sat across from the headmaster's desk. His daughter Claudia sat next to him, tugging on a string on her uniform. The headmaster, Mr. Barnes, pulled a stack of papers from a drawer and set them in front of Mr. Smyth. They were Claudia's past assignments. All over the papers were doodles. Most of them were of a phonebox. Sometimes the phoneboxes were colored bright blue. Other times, they'd just be outlined on the paper. One of them had a little man waving hello from inside.

"This has been going on long enough," Barnes growled. "It wouldn't be a problem, but for the fact that she constantly disrupts the class."

Mr. Smyth was quiet for a second. "How so?"

"If she's asked a question, she won't answer, too busy drawing-well, this!" He waved an angry hand at the papers, that Andrew was going through. The marks started out well, but as he shuffled through them, they got worse. Every paper had at least one drawing of the phonebox. Mr. Smyth shot a glance to his daughter who sank down into her chair, her face turning red underneath dark brown hair.

"Mr. Barnes, I assure you, I will make sure this doesn't become a habit."

Claudia was so far down in her chair that Barnes almost couldn't see her behind the desk. Barnes cleared his throat.

"Miss Smyth, could you please wait outside for a moment while I talk to your father?"

"Yessir.." Claudia mumbled, practically jumping out of her chair. Once the door shut, Mr. Smyth turned back to Barnes.

"I apologize, sir. She hasn't been quite the same since her mother died. I'm not sure where she got the box from. I don't know if she created it, or if she saw it somewhere, but I will make her stop."

Barnes nodded and Andrew left the office. He pulled Claudia up from her chair by the shirt and held on all the way to the car. They were silent the whole drive back through London and as soon as they got out of the car, Andrew grabbed Claudia's shirt again and dragged her into the apartment, abandoning her bag in the car. He slammed the door behind them and threw her ahead of him. She stumbled slightly, then tried to make a run toward the back door. Her father ran ahead of her, then held his arm out making her run into it. Claudia fell backward, holding her now bleeding nose. Andrew grabbed the front of Claudia's shirt and hauled her up, her feet leaving the ground. His free hand wrapped around her throat and he let go her her shirt.

"No more drawings. No more bad marks. No more trips to the office. If I hear anything about this again," he jerked her in his hand for good measure, then pulled back his free hand and punched her in the stomach, dropping her at the same time.

"Yes sir," Claudia choked out, rubbing her throat and gasping for air. He walked away, fuming to his bedroom. Claudia didn't stand up until she heard his door slam, then snuck over to the front door. Cringing when it squeaked, she slipped out and started sprinting down the street. People stared as she passed (it must've looked strange, a girl in a school uniform and bloody nose running down the sidewalk) but she didn't care. She didn't stop until she ran into something hard.

Rubbing her head, Claudia looked up and saw-a phonebox. The one she had been drawing.

"H-how?" she stammered. A man in a brown trenchcoat stepped out with a blonde girl following close behind him.

"Hello!" the man said brightly. "I'm The Doctor. What's your name? And what happened to your nose?"

Claudia just jumped to her feet and ran around the box. The Doctor watched her go and Rose peeked around the TARDIS.

"What was that about?" she asked. The Doctor shrugged and a man with messy brown hair ran by them, yelling at the top of his voice.

"CLAUDIA, YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT, GET YOUR ARSE BACK HERE!"

"Umm.." was the only thing Rose could think to say. The Doctor looked suddenly serious.

"C'mon," he said, taking off after the man.

"Wait! Doctor!" Rose shouted, running after him.

They caught up with the man, only to find him holding the girl from earlier up against a wall on a vacant street. He hadn't noticed them yet and was punching her repeatedly with his free hand. She didn't seem to be moving.

"Running-away-will-only-make-it-WORSE!" he said punctuating each word with a blow. On the word 'worse' she let out a loud yell. He let her go and she slumped to the ground. The man kicked her in the stomach and pulled his foot back to kick her in the face when the Doctor shouted, "OI!"

The man turned around, foot still in the air behind him. The girl tried to push herself up onto shaking arms, then fell to the ground, unmoving.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rose shouted, looking shocked. The man sniffed, running a hand through his hair.

"Just settling a problem. It's none of your business. Get lost."

"Nah, I think I'll stick around," said the Doctor, hands in his pocket, one of them wrapping around his sonic screwdriver. "Rose?"

"I'm staying too. Who is she?" Rose asked the man.

"My ungrateful excuse for a daughter, who needs to learn-her-place!" He kicked her in the chest three times and the Doctor could've sworn he heard a crack. Without thinking, Rose ran up and grabbed him from behind before he could kick the girl again.

"Get off me!" he said, spinning around and trying to fling Rose off. She clung on. "I said, GET OFF!" He gave one last spin, grabbing Rose's arm as he did so and she was flung against one of the walls, then the man ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Rose!" the Doctor yelled. She clambered back to her feet.

"I'm ok! Just go after him!"

The Doctor nodded and sprinted after the man, his long coat flowing out behind him. Rose stumbled over to the girl, sore from her impact with the wall, and knelt down. She checked for a pulse and didn't feel one. But something was off. The girl was glowing. Rose blinked a couple of times and shook her head.

_I must've hit my head. It looks like she's-but, no-she couldn't be!_

But when Rose looked at the girl again, the glow was brighter this time, and orange. It looked almost exactly like when Rose had seen the Doctor regenerating...but this girl couldn't be...

"DOCTOR!"

**Well, woohoo. Chapter one done. Anyway, I didn't plan on making her dad the abusive parent. It just sorta happened. Oh well, it worked didn't it? So, please review! Your comments and advice are appreciated. Unless, your just commenting to comment and it doesn't have anything to do with the story...**


	2. Chapter 2

**I was gonna say something funny...but I forgot...oh well, on with the story!..I guess that was kinda funny...and something ironic, I'm listening to Vale Decem while writing this. Read it and you'll get the irony. :) and Thank you to sashaxh, , and Alikai for being the first ones to review! I swear my face was like :D.**

**Oh, and I forgot this on the other chapter, but I'm only saying this once. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! except Claudia and her horrible father. I made them up.**

chapter 2

The Doctor reached out an arm, blood pounding in his ears, almost reaching the back of the man's shirt, when he heard Rose shout.

"DOCTOR!"

He staggered to a halt, glaring as the man ran away, then turned on his heel and ran back the way he came.

"Rose?"

Instead of an answer, he was greeted by a large blast of orange light coming from the alley he'd just left.

"Wha-?"

The Doctor stared at the light for a second, then blinked in surprise.

"That looks like-but-no, it can't be!"

He watched for a few more seconds and the light began to fade. He ran around the corner to find a completely different girl in the same position they'd left her in.

"It is! It's-she's a-but, how is that-?" The Doctor stammered out one unfinished question after another. Rose just stared between him and the girl on the ground.

"Doctor, did she just-?"

"Regenerate? Big, flashy light, big BOOM, and suddenly, new girl laying there? She regenerated! Only a Timelord can do that!"

"That means, that she's-a Timelord?" Rose asked slowly.

"Well, Timelady, if you wanna get specific, but in essence yes, she is a Timelord!"

The Doctor was estatic. He'd thought he was the last one. All the Timelords were gone, save for him, and yet, here was one. Right in front of him. This now ginger girl-wait a second...

"Oh, how come _she_ got to be ginger?" The Doctor yelled at the sky. "Aw, who cares? I found another Timelord!"

Rose smiled, having a feeling that smile would never disappear from his face. The girl stirred slightly, then opened her green eyes and sat up, holding her head. Slowly she stood up.

"Ow, why do my feet hurt so much?" she groaned. "And, am I-am I taller?"

She jumped up and down a couple of times, to get used to this feeling and some of her hair flew into her now freckled face. She grabbed a piece of it and held it up.

"I could've sworn I had brown hair when I left for school this morning..." Her clothes hung slightly looser on her like she was thinner and she tugged uncomfortably at her skirt which now seemed shorter. Finally, she looked up and saw Rose and the Doctor, who still had a stupid grin on his face. "You! You're the one with the phonebox! The one I kept drawing!"

The Doctor's smile faded slightly, not totally disappearing, and was replaced by a puzzled look. "You were drawing the TARDIS?"

"The what?"

"The TARDIS. The phonebox you ran into earlier?" The Doctor suggested.

"It has a name?"

"First, _it_ is a _she_ and will get easily offended if she finds out you called her an it. Second, how could you have drawn the TARDIS if you don't even know what it is?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "I thought it was just some random image that popped into my head. I didn't know it really existed."

"Could you show me these drawings?"

"Why? I don't even know your name, and you don't know mine."

"I'm the Doctor, and that's Rose Tyler," he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to Rose who had moved to stand beside him. "And from what your father was yelling, I assume your name is Claudia?"

"Y-yeah. But still, to show you the drawings, I'd have to go home and..." she trailed off, afraid her father might be home.

"Which way do you live?" the Doctor asked, picking up what she was saying. Despite her better judgement, Claudia pointed to the right.

"That way."

"Well, Dear Old Dad went that way," the Doctor pointed left, "so I'd say it's a pretty safe bet he's not home at the moment."

Claudia nodded getting the message and led them back to her apartment. The walk seemed a lot longer when she wasn't running for her life. Once they reached the flat, Claudia put one hand on the doorknob and froze.

"I know he's not home right now, but, what if he comes back while we're in here? He knows every single way we could get out."

"Why would he know that?" Rose asked.

"Three guesses," said Claudia grimly. Rose looked down at her feet, starting to get an idea of what this girl had been going through for years.

"How old are you?"

"15, why?"

"15? Really?" the Doctor asked. "You look about 18. Then again, I of all people shouldn't really talk about looking one's age."

Without another word, Claudia opened the door and took a quick look inside, making sure no one was home.

"It's ok, he's not here," she said, waving for the other two to come in. The Doctor looked around, with Rose slipping in the door behind him.

"So, we've met your dad, where's your mum?" Rose asked. Claudia stopped and suddenly became very interested in the carpet.

"She died, when was about 10. That's when Dad started...well, you know."

They were all quiet for a second. The Doctor clapped his hands together.

"So! How about those drawings?"

"Upstairs, first door on the left. I'm going to change into something that might fit a little better," said Claudia, pulling on her skirt again. The Doctor nodded and followed her up the stairs. Claudia walked into her room, grabbed some clothes then stepped back out of the room. She turned in the doorway.

"I'll be right back. Just look through the drawings. They're kinda hard to miss."

And with that, she walked off down the hall toward the bathroom. Claudia changed quickly into a loose-fitting, blue hoodie ("It's _still _big on me?" she groaned) over a grey shirt with a silhouette of a leafless tree and two birds, a pair of faded blue jeans, and bright purple converse shoes. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and did a double take.

"Whoa," she mumbled, running a hand through her longer hair. "I really did change, didn't I?"

Deciding that her hair looked better pulled back in a ponytail with her bangs almost covering one eye and bits of hair framing her face, she walked back down the hallway.

The Doctor looked around the small bedroom. Claudia had been right: the pictures were _very_ hard to miss. Whether they were doodles on homework assignments, or just on scraps of sketch paper, drawings of the TARDIS covered the walls. He heard footsteps and Claudia came through the door, looking slightly more comfortable than in her school uniform.

"You drew all these?" he asked, pointing at one of the walls.

"Yep. Every single one. I don't know why. It's the only thing I ever could think to draw-well, except for the robot things."

The Doctor and Rose both looked at her.

"The robot things?" they asked in unison.

"Yeah. I assume they have a name too, but..." Claudia trailed off and started shifting through one of her desk drawers. Finally she pulled out a paper. "Here's one."

She handed it to the Doctor who nearly dropped it as soon as he had it. Rose looked over his shoulder to see what had him so scared and felt her eyes widen.

"Doctor-Doctor that's a-"

"I know. And I hope it doesn't mean what I think it does."

"What?" asked Claudia, who was starting to fear her own drawings. The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, but before he could do so, the bedroom door burst open, and in the doorway stood a fuming Andrew Smyth.

"Oh, I knew it. Just like your mother aren't you?" he growled. "Well, I know what I'm doing this time. I did it to her and I'll just have to do it to you."

**Oh, look another cliff hanger...sorry. I mean, this one was longer than the first one and I just kinda kept writing cause I couldn't find a good place to stop. Oh well. At least it should keep people reading...hopefully...please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**And Chapter 4-I mean 2-no wait, 3. sorry. my keyboard's being stupid. And it's dark...anyway, so I had a little bit of writers block, so this comes out how it comes out. If I find something I want to change, or you think I should change, tell me and I'll think about it. Enjoy, my like 3 readers! and sorry about the late update, like I said, writer's block and all.**

chapter 3

Andrew moved forward like he was going to hit Claudia again. She glared at him, but the Doctor could still see the surprise on her face. Her father's hand was about to hit her in the face, when she grabbed it and held on. Instead, she punched _him _in the face, then grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him up so that they were at eye level (she was now taller than him by a few inches).

"I've had _enough_ of your _crap!_" she hissed at him, her voice dangerously low. "You beat me for every little thing I mess up on, and now you're telling me _you're_ the reason I don't have a mother anymore? That's just low, even by your standards."

Andrew looked worried for a second, then a large grin broke out across his face. Claudia looked surprised. He was _laughing!_ Why was he laughing? Her question was answered when seconds later, a high-pitched whirring sounded behind her and the small pocket knife in her father's hand flew across the room, almost sticking in one of the walls. Despite the fact that he was now unarmed, Andrew continued giggling like a mad man.

"You think you can scare me? Like you said I've beat you down for every little thing. Why, please, enlighten me, why, would you think I was afraid of you?"

Claudia pulled back her hand to punch him again, then stop and took a deep breath. "No. I'm not gonna stoop down to your level. Now, tell me. What did you do to mum?"

He just smiled again. "Why don't I show you?"

His free hand shot out for her throat, and she reacted likewise. Claudia saw the Doctor and Rose both tense up and step forward behind them. Seconds later, father and daughter held each other by the throat, both seeming to dare the other to squeeze harder.

"Heh. I suppose that's the little bit of me in you. Your mum didn't fight back. She only stood there, completely surprised at what I was doing."

"Why did you kill her?" Claudia choked out, trying not to show he was winning. He let out a strangled laugh.

"She was noticing my drinking problem was coming back. See, she thought I was becoming a danger to the family. She was trying to take you away to a safer home. You know what I told her? I told her, "No way any kid of mine is gonna go to a foster home." And then..." he wheezed another laugh. "..and then, I think I blacked out for a second, but when I looked down at her next, my hands were around her neck. She was dying, calling out desperately for me to stop. But I just laughed. I laughed and squeezed harder."

Claudia kept her cold stare despite the fact that tears were starting to form in her eyes. What kind of man could be so cruel as to kill his wife, and tell his daughter the story while trying to kill her? She didn't realize she was squeezing as hard as her fingers would allow. The Doctor and Rose, noticing the other two starting to turn purple, pulled them off of each other. Rose supported Claudia who immediately started gasping for air while The Doctor held Andrew back.

"You-you're sick," Claudia spat at her father. "You know that?"

She got unsteadily to her feet and walked out of the room.

"Oi!" Andrew called. "You get back here, or I swear I'll-!"

Rose finally snapped and slapped him across the face. As soon as she'd done so, however, she considered herself lucky that the Doctor was holding him back, because he looked like he was ready to kill.

"I'm calling the police," said the Doctor, struggling to hold Andrew's arms back. "Report you for child abuse."

Andrew stopped fighting and let out a chuckle. "What evidence would you have? Hmm? She changed didn't she? No more bruises? Then there's the fact that your only witness just ran away."

"Do you know where she's going?" Rose asked.

"Hmph. Of course I do."

Claudia hurried down the street, towards the outskirts of the city where fields spread out for miles. Finally, she came across a graveyard. Walking slowly through, she looked between the graves until she found what she was looking for. The memorial left for her mother. A body had never been found.

"Why didn't you tell me Mum?" she whispered to the small, flower-covered cross in front of her. The wind blew for a second, moving the flowers and making the words "Elizabeth Smyth" visible on the cross. "What were you? Why did Dad go too far?" Claudia stopped and gave a humorless laugh. "Ah, who am I kidding?" She looked up at the sky. "You can't really hear me right?"

"Claudia!"

She turned to see two people running towards her. The Doctor and Rose slowed down as they caught up to her. All three looked back down at the cross.

"A memorial?" The Doctor asked.

"Mhm. They never found her body. There was nothing to bury."

The Doctor got an odd expression on his face, like he was thinking.

"Your father said that you were like your mother, so your mother must have been one too...and if he saw her, then..." The Doctor seemed to figure out the problem in his head. "Oh, that is brilliant!"

Claudia and Rose just looked confused. "What is?"

"Claudia, your father may have killed your mother, but she came back. Just like you did!"

"W-what?"

"They didn't find a dead body because there wasn't one! She regenerated and had to leave! New face, new name too, probably." His face became suddenly serious. "She's alive somewhere, living a completely different life, sometimes remembering the old."

"Will I have to do that?"

The Doctor gave her a sad smile. "Most likely."

Claudia was quiet for a second, becoming very interested in her converse. She looked back up at the two of them.

"Can-can I come with you?" she asked sheepishly. Then she quickly added, "Just til I find my mum, I mean."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Rose who grinned back.

"I'd love that," he said, smiling broadly. "It's not that often that I meet someone who's like me."

Claudia grinned back and the three of them headed back to the TARDIS.

**Ok, like I said, writer's block+writing at 3 am=whatever the hell I just wrote. So, go easy on me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**M'kay. chapter 4. yep. umm...don't blink. This chapter has been edited. Re-read if you wish. I just fixed some of the lines, nothing major.**

chapter 4

Three weeks later...

The Doctor moved around the console, occasionally looking up at Claudia who was sitting in a chair, messing with something in her hands. Her hair fell in front of her face, hiding her eyes. She was wearing a dark blue denim vest that cut of mid-torso over a long-sleeved shirt that read 'I 3 NNY', a pair of blue jeans, and kept her purple converse. There were two buttons pinned to the collar of her vest: One of the TARDIS and another of a Dalek. The Doctor should have expected her to find something like that if she were just looking through a wardrobe. Especially on the TARDIS. His curiosity finally getting the better of him, he leaned against the console, across from her chair.

"What're you working on?"

She held up a finger, "Hold on."

The thing in her hands sparked and she jumped back before leaning over it again. Claudia was practically curled up into a ball with her legs crossed in the chair. The Doctor was sure a person wasn't supposed to bend that way. A few seconds later, the thing sparked again and Claudia held it up. In her hand was a shiny, black...ball-point pen.

"A pen?"

"Sonic pen," she said proudly. "Amazing the stuff you find when you're looking around here."

"You found that?"

"Found parts to it. You've got your screwdriver. This one's mine," she said, grinning up at him. He held out his hand and she passed it over to him. He turned it over a few times. It looked like an ordinary ball-point pen that you twist out apart from the small, silver button close to the middle of it and the light on the end of it. The Doctor glanced up at Claudia who was looking at him hopefully for some sort of response. When he stayed silent, the grin started to fade from her face.

"Are you mad? I probably should've asked before I used this stuff. I mean-"

"I'm impressed, actually," said the Doctor, smiling at her. "I don't even think I'd be able to build my sonic screwdriver, and it never leaves my pocket."

She smiled again and the Doctor handed back the pen. It was nice to see her smile. Especially when the Doctor remembered the first few days of her travelling with them. Every time he'd reach out to hit a button on the console, or pat her on the back for doing something, she'd immediately flinch away. The bruises might have been gone, but the memories were still there.

The Doctor was brought out of his thoughts by Rose coming back out from her room. The Doctor had told her to go change so she might blend in a little better where-or when they were going. Now she wore a short, denim dress with frizzy edges over a pink t-shirt and black leggings.

"What do you think, will this work?" she asked, pulling on the hem of her dress.

"Eh, late 1970's, you'd be better off in a bin bag," the Doctor answered with a grin. Rose laughed and leaned on the other side of the console. The Doctor put a cd into the console.

"Hold on, listen to this," he said while music started playing. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number one in 1979."

Rose laughed at him as he started to sing along.

"...it's good to be a lunatic..."

"You're a punk, you know that?" said Rose. "A big old punk with a bit of...rockabilly thrown in."

"Would you two like to see him?" the Doctor asked.

"What, in concert?" Claudia asked, sounding excited.

"What else is the TARDIS for?" he moved around, hitting a few more buttons. "I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar... the first anti-gravity Olympics... Caesar crossing the Rubicon... or... Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979. What do you think?"

Rose and Claudia shared a look before Rose turned to the Doctor, grinning broadly. "Sheffield it is."

He started hitting buttons and flipping switches all over and ended up hitting one bell repeatedly with a small sledgehammer, yelling, "Woah, Nelly!"

The TARDIS lurched to a stop, making everyone topple over. Rose and the Doctor laughed as they landed flat on their backs. Claudia was pulling herself back over her chair.

"Don't think I'll ever get used to that," she mumbled, before sliding the sonic pen into her pocket.

"1979, hell of a year!" said the Doctor brightly. "China invades Vietnam, the Muppet Movie, love that film, Margaret Thatcher," he made an odd face as if saying 'so-so'. "Skylab falls to earth...with a little help from me. Nearly lost my thumb. I like my thumb, I need my thumb, I'm very attatched to-" He and the other two walked outside the door to be greeted by five soldiers on horses pointing pistols at them. "-my thumb."

The Doctor looked around, a look of realization crossing his face, "1879. Same difference."

The three of them put their hands up in surrender and the guard closest to the Doctor raised his voice.

"You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of this girl," he waved his gun at Rose who looked down at her short dress.

"Are we in Scotland?" the Doctor asked brightly in a perfect scottish accent.

"How can you be ignorant of that?" the soldier asked.

"Oh, I'm- I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing this... this wee naked child over hill and over dale," he waved a hand at Rose. "Isn't that right, ya... timorous beastie?"

Rose raised an eyebrow at him before deciding to play along in a horrible attempt at a scottish accent. "Ach, aye! I've been...out and about!"

"No, don't do that," the Doctor muttered under his breath.

"But, come on-"

"No, really don't."

"Will you identify yourself, sir?" the guard asked.

"I'm Doctor James McKinnon from the Township of Balamoray." He grabbed Claudia's shoulder, "And this is my...daughter, er...Jenna." He pointed at his pocket. "Um, I have my credentials, if I may."

The guard nodded and the Doctor pulled out the psychic paper and held it out to the guards.

"As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."

One of them shouted out skeptically, "She's your daughter?"

"Ah, I know, looks more and more like her mother everyday. She's got my personality though."

Claudia just looked like any other teenager did whenever their parents talked about them. Another guard was about to respond when a voice came from the carriage not too far down the road.

"Let them approach."

"I don't think that's wise ma'am," said the first guard.

"Let them approach," the woman's voice said a little more sternly. Hesitating, the guards lowered their pistols.

"You will approach the carriage. And show all due deference."

The Doctor gave a mock salute and he, Rose and Claudia made their way over to the carriage. The two girls were surprised to see who was sitting inside.

"Rose, Cla-er Jenna, might I introduce her majesty, Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

Rose did her best attempt at a curtsie, "Rose Tyler, ma'am. And my apologies-about being so naked," Rose laughed nervously. The Queen just smiled.

"I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me. But you, Doctor, show me these credentials."

The Doctor handed her the psychic paper.

"Why didn't you say so immediately?" the queen asked, sounding surprised. "It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my protector."

"Does it? Yes, it does! Good, good. Um, then let me ask, why is your majesty travelling by road, when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"

The queen looked serious again.

"A tree on the line."

"An accident?"

"I'm the queen of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned."

"An assassination attempt?" The Doctor scratched the back of his head. Rose looked shocked.

"What, seriously, there's people out to kill you?"

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun." the queen said calmly. The first guard who had questioned them rode his horse over to the carriage.

"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We'll send word ahead, he can shelter us for tonight and we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This Doctor, his daughter and his...timorous beastie will come with us."

"Yes ma'am. We'd better get moving. It's almost nightfall."

"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales, intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!" the queen called to the driver. Rose, Claudia and the Doctor fell in step behind the carriage.

"Seriously though, you think of assassination attempts, you think of Kennedy, and stuff. Not her," Rose was saying.

"Eh, 1879? There's been what, six attempts on her life?"

"Tell you what though, we just met Queen Victoria!" Claudia said, excitedly.

"I know!" said the Doctor. "What a laugh. She was just sitting there!"

"Like a stamp!" Rose added. "I want her to say 'We are not amused'. I bet you five quid I can make her say it."

"Oh, I'm not a gambling man," the Doctor sighed putting his hands in his pockets. "Besides, it'd be an abuse of my privelege as a time-traveler."

"Ten quid?"

"Done."

"Ok, I want in on this," Claudia laughed.

**M'kay, so as you can tell, most of this was going off memory. Then I had to find or make up parts to fit Claudia in. I have the episode on iTunes, but my iPod broke, and I don't have iTunes on this computer. So, it came out as such. If you know what they actually said, and would like me to change it, please let me know, but I feel like I got most of them pretty close. And I know that a sonic pen doesn't come in til WAY later, but I felt like Claudia should have some kind of sonic...thing...and all I could think of was a pen. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 continues with "Tooth and Claw"...so yeah...New favorite poem: Roses are blonde, the TARDIS is blue, I am in love with Doctor Who. :3**

**So, yeah. Finals this week...geometry...I am suddenly disheartened...**

**Also, for a drawing contest my friends and I are doing, We have to make up a character and draw a pic of them. I'm drawing Claudia. We have to on the back, write their backstory, age, hair/eye color (basic profile stuff) and what we think their "theme song" would be. I have come up with: **

**Bad Reputation-Joan Jett**

**Because of you-Kelly Clarkson**

**Runaway-Avril Lavigne**

**or, Break Away-also by Kelly Clarkson**

**Or, should I just do a random Chameleon Circuit song or something? Let me know what you think please. I'm open to suggestions. :)**

**And a GI-HUGIC thank you to FakeAtkinson for sending me the link to the Doctor Who transcripts. You have no idea how helpful that is. :3**

**i own nothing.**

I AM CHAPTER 5

The carriage pulled into the front of the tall castle. A wooden sign was hung above the doorway, with the word TORCHWOOD carved neatly into it. One of the soldiers got off his horse and helped the queen out of the carriage. As he did so, a man with thinning brown hair, followed by one of his butlers, who was completely bald, came out of Torchwood House.

"Your Majesty," the first man said, bowing.

"Sir Robert, my apologies for the emergency. And how is lady Isabel?"

Robert looked nervous, wringing his hands together. "She's...indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season, and she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked- I wouldn't blame your majesty if you wanted to ride on."

"Is he trying to get rid of us?" Claudia whispered to the Doctor. He merely shrugged in response.

"Oh, not at all!" the queen said cheerily. "I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is...charming, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside?"

Sir Robert hesitated for a second before reluctantly nodding.

"And please excuse the naked girl," the queen added.

"Sorry," Rose muttered from her place next to the Doctor. Said Doctor decided to play up the cover story a little more.

"She's a feral child," he went on in his Scottish accent. "I bought her for sixpence in old London Town," he shrugged. "It was either her or the elephant man..."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Thinks he's funny, but I am _so_ not amused," she looked at the queen, "What do you think ma'am?"

"It hardly matters," said the queen, not noticing Rose's grin shrink slightly. "Shall we proceed?"

Robert nodded again and led the queen into the castle.

"So close," Rose mumbled to the Doctor. Claudia grinned, trying not to giggle. Captain Reynolds, the soldier who'd questioned them, pulled a small, wooden box from the carriage.

"Markerson and Ramsey, you will escort the property," Reynolds barked at two of the soldiers who took the box from him, mumbling, "Yes sir."

"What's in there then?" The Doctor asked, clearly interested.

"Property of the crown," said Reynolds sternly. "You will dismiss any further thoughts sir."

Reynolds turned away and Claudia looked up at the Doctor, who was almost a head taller than her. "He only said sir, he said nothing about Rose or me."

"What, we go back to Victorian times and suddenly you're a smart aleck? Come here, you."

The Doctor pulled Claudia into a loose head-lock as they walked.

"Lemme go!"

"You done cracking jokes?" The Doctor teased.

"Yeah, sure whatever. We're getting strange looks..."

The Doctor looked around and saw a few of the soldiers and butlers avert their eyes as he looked up.

"And you never did say what you were betting on," said Rose. "Are you with me or the Doctor."

"Neither. I'm betting that no matter which one of you wins this, something's gonna happen to get us kicked out of this country."

"What? That doesn't happen often-" the Doctor started.

"Queen Elizabeth I," Claudia stated matter-of-factly. The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but the closed it again, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, yeah..."

Reynolds payed them no attention, but commanded the rest of his soldiers.

"The rest of you, go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions."

There were many calls of "Yes sir!" and the rest of the soldiers disappeared around the side of the building.

Sir Robert showed them around the castle and up to the observatory. Upon entering the room, Claudia noticed a large, brass, telescope-looking instrument."

"What is that?" she asked. Her question was ignored however as the queen spoke.

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour?"

"All my father's work, built by hand in his final years," said Robert somberly. "Became something of an obsession- he spent his money on that, rather than caring for the house or himself."

The Doctor smiled. "I wish I'd met him. I like him. That thing's beautiful- can I um?" He waved a hand at the giant contraption.

"Help yourself."

The Doctor ducked around Claudia to look at the large wheel on the side of it. "What did he model it on?"

"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little...shall we say, eccentric? I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories."

Claudia was the only one to noticed Robert glance nervously at the queen and slowly looked away from him to the Doctor, who was looking through what would've been the eyepiece.

"It's a bit rubbish," he said. "How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's a stupid kind of a- am I being rude again?"

This last part, he asked quietly to Rose.

"Yep," she said, while Claudia nodded behind her.

"But it's pretty! It's very...pretty..."

Rose patted the Doctor on the arm while Claudia looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"And the imagination of it should be applauded," said Queen Victoria.

"Mm!" Rose jumped at the new opportunity. "Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty. Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful?"

The queen just stared at Rose, who's face was slowly growing redder.

"You could easily...not be amused...? Or something...? No?"

"This device surveys the infinite work of God. What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath. Steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales."

The Doctor smiled, "Stars and magic. I like him more and more."

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," she spoke directly to Rose. "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."

The Doctor leaned in between Rose and Claudia and whispered, "That's Bovaria."

The queen turned to Sir Robert. "When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported."

"So what's this wolf then?" The Doctor asked, the curious tone back in his Scottish accent.

"It's just a story," Robert said dismissively.

"Stories are meant to be told," said Claudia, surprising herself at how well she could do a Scottish accent. _Maybe it's a Timelord thing?_ she thought. Robert glanced nervously at the butler behind him.

"I-It's said that-"

"Excuse me sir," the butler cut in. "Perhaps her Majesty's party would like to repair to their rooms? It's getting dark."

"Of course," Robert's voice sounded like his mind was a million miles away. "Yes, of course."

"And then supper," the queen added. "And...could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I grow tired of nakedness."

"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose asked pointedly. Claudia had one hand over her mouth, disguising the small laugh that came out as a couch. The queen shot a quick glare at Rose before turning to Robert.

"Sir Robert, your wife must've left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven. And talk some more about this wolf. After all...there is a full moon tonight."

"So there is ma'am."

He bows and leaves, the queen following with the others not far behind, with Claudia stealing one last glance at the supposed telescope.

**So, part 2 of Tooth and Claw. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Tooth and Claw part 3. I might finish up the episode in this one, but then it also depends on how long I can pay attention…ADD plus TV in background…you know how that usually ends…**

**And sorry about the late update, I wanted to finish my bleach story.**

**Don't own the amazingness that is this show.**

Chapter 6

Claudia wandered around the hallway, her arms crossed and the setting sun creating odd shadows on the walls. Rose had been shown to a bedroom to try on different dresses. The soldiers hadn't had a problem with what Claudia was wearing (though they did find it a bit strange) so she'd been left to explore on her own. Occasionally, she'd pass a soldier or butler walking by. One butler passed by her, carrying a tray full of tin cups. He nodded at her and walked past and around the corner. A few seconds later, there was a series of loud thumps and Claudia quickened her pace. Skidding to a stop on the thick carpet, she looked down to see all four of the guards in that hallway had completely passed out. She knelt down next to the nearest one and felt for a pulse. He was still alive.

Soft footsteps sounded all around her and about five of the butlers came from both ends of the hallway. Claudia stood up slowly, very aware of the butlers reaching for the guards' guns.

"Did you do this?" she asked, taking a few steps back, her eyes looking for a way out. There wasn't one.

"We did," said one on her right.

"On Father Angelo's orders," said another one.

"They were in the way of our objective."

"What objective?" asked Claudia, feeling for a door knob behind her. The butlers all spoke in unison.

"Migrating to the Holy Monarch."

"You mean Queen Victoria?"

"You came with Doctor McKinnon," said one of her left. "You are part of the guard."

"Wait, what did you do to them?"

"I'm afraid you're in our way as well, Miss McKinnon."

"Answer me! What did you do to—mmf!"

One of the butlers/monks came up behind her, putting a cloth over her mouth and nose, muffling her scream. The monk held on until the tall girl went limp on his arms and started dragging her away.

None of them noticed Rose peeking out of a door in the hallway across from them. Followed closely by one of the maids, Flora, Rose made her way out into the hall to check on the guards once the monks had left.

"Oh, miss, I did warn you!" said Flora. Rose knelt down and felt for a pulse on one of the guards.

"He's not dead…I don't think. He must be drugged or something. Anyway we have to tell the Doctor about Claud—Flora?"

Flora had suddenly disappeared from behind her. Rose jumped and tried to run away as a monk came up behind her and covered her nose and mouth.

The Doctor looked up as the head butler walked into the dining room.

"Your companion begs an apology, Doctor. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her."

"Oh that's alright, save her a wee bit of ham."

"The feral child could probably eat it raw," said the queen. Reynolds laughed nervously.

"Very wise, ma'am! Very witty!"

The queen looked at him appraisingly. "Slightly witty, perhaps. I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited…I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am," said Reynolds meekly.

"You never did say about Jenna," said the Doctor turning to see the head butler. He looked at the Doctor for a second before answering.

"I'm afraid she got lost, exploring the house."

"Alright then, she'll turn up. Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert! Come, Sir! You promised us a tale of nightmares."

"Indeed," said the queen, "Since my husband's death, I find myself with much more of a taste for supernatural fiction."

"You must miss him," said the Doctor quietly. The queen looked at him sadly.

"Very much," she looked down at her lap. "Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the…hope of some contact with the great beyond."

The Doctor kept the queen in his steady gaze as she continued.

"We all want some message from that place…it's the Creator's greatest mystery that we are allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent. And we must wait."

She trailed off before shaking her head. The Doctor moved his gaze to the table in front of him.

"Come!" the queen went on. "Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters!

**BREAK**

Claudia sat up slowly, holding her head and looking around. She was chained to about ten other people, including Rose and most of which were maids of the house, the last being the steward. All of them had their eyes locked on something in the shadows. Claudia's gaze followed their line of sight and she let out a small yip of surprise. A man sat in a cage, cross-legged and eyes closed. At the noise Claudia made, his eyes had snapped open for barely a second to glare at her. There was something off about him. She'd built up a sense of finding danger over the past five years and her radar was going crazy.

"Don't make a sound," one of the women, who must have been Lady Isobel, muttered. "They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us."

Claudia's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as Rose voiced the thought in both their heads.

"But…he's in a cage. He's a prisoner. He's the same as us."

Lady Isobel shook her head sadly, her voice shaking as she replied.

"He's nothing like us. That creature is not mortal."

They all looked back at the man whose head slowly moved up until he opened his eyes again, completely black and glistening in the small amount of moonlight shining through the cellar door. Claudia and Rose stared in shock while the others whimpered and moved closer to each other.

**BREAK**

"The story goes back three hundred years," Sir Robert started his story. "Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and…devoured."

He said the last word slowly, as if deciding whether or not it was the right one to use. Reynolds scoffed.

"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves," he said calmly, hands folded in front of him on the table. "Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that."

He missed the queen's slightly irritated look.

"But sometimes a child goes missing," Robert pressed, leaning closer to the group. "A boy will vanish from his homestead."

**BREAK**

Rose and Claudia exchanged a look before nodding to each other, standing up and starting to approach the man.

"Don't," Isobel mumbled from behind them. She was ignored as the two girls moved closer, rattling the chains as they moved.

"Who are you?" Rose asked.

"Don't enrage him," the steward growled.

"Where are you from?" Claudia asked, ignoring the steward. "You're not from Earth. What planet are you from?"

Finally, he spoke. "Ohhh….intelligence."

His voice was almost silky and high-pitched, but that didn't make him any less threatening. In fact, it seemed to add to his frightening appearance.

"Where were you born?" Rose asked.

"This body…ten miles away…a weakling, heartsick boy. Stolen away at night by the brethren from my cultivation."

His voice almost seemed to purr on the word 'cultivation' and Claudia shivered slightly at the sound of it.

"I carved out his soul and sat in his heart."

His quiet purr had changed to a trembling hiss.

**BREAK**

The Doctor joined in the conversation. "Are there descriptions of the creature?"

"Oh yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings…" Sir Robert trailed off for a second before remembering where he was. "And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal."

The Doctor leaned forward, looking interested. "A werewolf?"

**BREAK**

Rose and Claudia started to back away slightly from the man.

"All right…" Rose started. "So the body's human…but what about you? The thing inside?"

"So far from home…" he responded vaguely.

"If you wanna get back home, we can help you," Claudia suggested.

"Why would I leave this place?" he said, almost laughing. "A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose."

"How would you do that?" asked Rose hesitantly.

"I would migrate to the Holy Monarch."

Claudia and Rose answered at the same time.

"The queen?"

"You mean Queen Victoria?"

The man almost grinned. "With one bite, I would pass into her blood. And then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf! So many questions…"

He trailed off again. Suddenly, he jerked forward in the cage, making everyone jump back a few steps. Claudia accidently bumped shoulders with Rose and an image flashed through her head. Metal people walking through a wall…it was all blurry. She barely registered what the man said next.

"Look! Inside your eyes! You've seen it too!" he hissed excitedly at Rose.

"Seen what?" Rose asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"The Wolf! There's something of the Wolf about you!"

Rose stared at him while Claudia tried to clear her head.

"I-I don't know what you mean," Rose stammered, scooting backward even further.

"You burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon," he growled, pressing his face against the bars. His eyes flicked to Claudia, his head snapping around to follow. "And you! You will meet a fate worse than any. Don't trust the big blue box!"

Claudia stared at him with wide eyes. What was he talking about? Clearly Rose didn't know either. Maybe he was insane and was just babbling now.

Right?

**BREAK**

Sir Robert shared a glance with all at the table. "My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast—to have learned its purpose."

No one paid any attention to the head butler turning his attention toward the large, open window.

"I should've listened," Robert continued. He cast a wary glance over his shoulder at the butler. When he continued again, he spoke quickly and quietly. "His work was hindered—he made enemies. There's a Monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The brethren opposed my father's investigations."

"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly," the queen added in. Robert nodded.

"That's what I thought. But now I wonder…what if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet?"

The Doctor's eyes flicked up to look at the butler who was staring, almost trance-like out the window, chanting something in Latin over and over again. His sharp ears picked up what it was almost immediately, while also listening to the conversation going on around him.

"_Lupus Deus est—."_

"What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?" Sir Robert asked. The Doctor turned toward the butler.

"And what if they were with us right now?"

**Okay. I lied. There'll be another part sorry. But this was like 6 pages on Microsoft word. So… Anyway, sorry again for the late update. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Tooth and claw part 4**

Chapter 7

Everyone in the cellar jumped and looked up as the cellar doors were thrown open, letting in a stream of moonlight. The man pressed his face against the other part of the cage, taking in the moonlight like a starved child.

"Moonlight…" he muttered happily. He pulled the cloak off his shoulders, revealing short, dark hair matted to his head. He took a deep breath, gripping either side of the cage. Rose was the first to snap out of the trance of terror.

"All of you! Stop looking at it!" she shouted. "Flora, don't look—listen to me. Grab hold of the chain and pull!"

Claudia joined her in pulling the chain against the wall. Everyone else stared at the man, whimpering in fear and protesting Rose's idea. Rose groaned in frustration.

"I said pull! Stop your whining and listen to me! All of you!" she turned back to Lady Isobel. "And that means you, your Ladyship! Now come on—pull!"

The rest of the group stood up and pulled on the chain, feeling it strain slightly against the wall.

**BREAK**

The group around the table had all stood up to move to the other side of the room.

"What is the meaning of this?" the queen asked. Reynolds pointed his gun at Sir Robert.

"Explain yourself, Sir Robert!"

"What's happening?" the queen repeated.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Robert said, hanging his head. "They've got my wife."

The Doctor wasn't paying attention, but advancing on the butler, still chanting at the window.

"Where're Rose and Claudia?" he shouted, forgetting the cover name and his Scottish accent. "Where are they?"

The butler ignored him and continued chanting. The Doctor growled and turned back to the rest of the group.

"Sir Robert—come on!"

They both ran from the room, Reynolds' gun pointed at the butler instead.

**BREAK**

Claudia looked frantically at the man, now turning into a wolf. His skull was transforming, snout elongating, spine cracking as it changed. His screams turned to howls, mingling with Rose shouting.

"…two…three…Pull!"

They all pulled on the chain, feeling it start to give way, but it still stuck to the wall. The man's body was sprouting fur, his ears moving up to the top of his head. Rose tried not to look at the wolf.

"One—two—three—pull!"

**BREAK**

Captain Reynolds kept his gun pointed at the butler-monk.

"Tell me, sir. I demand to know your intention!"

"_Lupus deus est. Lupus deus est. Lu—_."

"What is it that you want?"

He stopped chanting and turned to Reynolds.

"The throne," he stated simply. He suddenly attacked Reynolds, knocking the gun out of the soldier's hand and throwing him to the ground.

**BREAK**

The wolf had completely transformed now. It flexed its claws growling at the prisoners in the cellar.

"One, two, three, pull!"

With a resounding snap and clatter, the chain finally broke free of the wall. Someone kicked down the other door, leading into the house, and the Doctor appeared in the doorway, followed by Sir Robert.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose shouted, while Claudia almost gave a relieved laugh. The Doctor flashed them a smile before turning to the wolf. It grabbed the walls of the cage.

"Oh, that's beautiful!" the Doctor exclaimed, staring at the wolf.

"Get out!" Sir Robert shouted to his wife, trying to usher her out of the room. The wolf started to bend the bars of the cage, breaking them and snapping of the top of the cage, throwing across it across the room. The Doctor's smile flashed off his face and he turned back to the group waving his arms wildly.

"Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!" he shouted. He stayed behind to stare at the wolf just a little bit longer.

"Come on…" Rose urged him, as Claudia ran ahead of her. Rose ran after her friend and the Doctor soon followed after as the wolf let out a feral growl in his direction. The room was clear and the wolf threw back his head and sent out a mighty howl toward the moon that seemed to echo across the castle grounds.

**BREAK**

The queen and Father Angelo, disguised as a butler, faced each other across the table. Both kept a calm face, rage burning behind the queen's eyes.

"I take it, sir," she started, "that you halted my train to bring me here?"

"We have waited so long for one of your journeys to coincide with the moon," he replied, calm as ever. He seemed a little over-confident.

"Then you have waited in vain. After six attempts on my life," The queen reached into her bag and pulled out a small pistol and pointed it at him with a shaking hand. "I am hardly unprepared."

Father Angelo merely smiled. "Oh, I don't think so, woman."

"The correct form of address," she said harshly, "is 'Your Majesty'."

Her finger tightened around the trigger letting loose a great _BANG_ that resounded around the room.

**BREAK**

The former prisoners from the cellar stood in the hallway, the steward handing out guns to all the men.

"Arms…" he said, as they all took aim at the open corridor, waiting for the wolf to appear. "…and your strife…Ready everyone?" He turned to Isobel. "Take the girls. Get them out through the kitchen."

Isobel moved closer to her husband. "I can't leave you. What will you do?"

Sir Robert looked at her sadly. "I must defend her Majesty. Now, don't think of me—just go."

The kissed each other before she gathered her maids together. "All of you at my side come on!"

She led them through the kitchen while the Doctor was using the screwdriver to free Rose of the handcuffs. Claudia had somehow gotten her pen from her back pocket and already freed herself, cursing the fact that she hadn't done so in the first place. The Doctor spoke very fast, explaining the wolf.

"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths—did it say what it wanted?"

"The queen, the crown, the throne—you name it," Rose started.

"It pretty much wanted the whole world," Claudia went on, casting wary glances down the hall. She'd heard a loud thumping sound coming from the direction of the cellar. "Doctor d'you—?"

"I hear it," he said, moving away from Rose and venturing around the corner. He was greeted by the sight of the door being attacked from the other side, almost bulging outward off its hinges. Finally, it broke off, falling flat on the floor. All was silent as the Doctor and the wolf stared each other down for a few seconds. The wolf growled and the Doctor snapped out of his trance, running back around the corner and behind the line of gunman, grabbing Rose's hand as he did so.

"Fire!" the steward shouted. The wolf flinched and took a few steps back as the bullets hit its thick skin. They paused to reload before the steward shouted again. "Fire!"

Rose flinched and Claudia watched with wide eyes as they shot at the wolf again.

**BREAK**

Lady Isobel and her maids crossed the kitchen toward the door—only to find it stuck.

"It won't open—they've sealed us in," said Isobel.

"Oh, my Lady," said Flora frantically, pointing out the window. "Look!"

She did and saw that the monks had surrounded the house, the guards' guns held in their arms.

"They'll never let us out!" Flora continued hysterically. "They mean for us to die!"

"Don't say that Flora!" Isobel shouted.

**BREAK**

The men finally stopped firing, leaving the room cloudy and full of smoke. There was no sign of the wolf.

"All right, you men, we should retreat upstairs," said the Doctor. "Come with me."

"I'll not retreat," said the steward proudly. "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."

The Doctor growled in frustration. "I'm telling you, come upstairs!"

"And I'm telling you, sir that I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall."

The steward strode confidently across the room to look down the corridor and turned back to the group with an almost triumphant grin.

"Must've crawled away to die—."

He was suddenly lifted through the ceiling and the sounds of an animal eating something could be heard.

"There's nothing we can do," said the Doctor, pushing Rose along. "Claudia, come on!"

Claudia blinked and started after the Doctor and Rose, still staring open-mouthed down the hall. Most of the gunman had similar reactions. The wolf suddenly bounded down the hallway, straight at the firing squad. Claudia barely saw it through the smoke in the room and felt its massive front paws hit her in the side of the head and side. She was thrown across the room by the force of the blow, skidding a few feet before finally stopping.

"Claudia!" The Doctor and Rose shouted at the same time. The wolf paid her no attention, focused instead on the firing squad. To the Doctor's amazement, she stood back up, albeit very shakily, and looked up the stairs at them.

"I'll catch up, you go on!" she shouted up to them. She gripped the railing with one hand and her bleeding side with the other. She could feel something warm, wet and sticky gluing part of her hair to her ear and cheek. She felt dizzy and she was only on the fifth step. Chancing a glance behind her, Claudia saw the wolf rip someone's arm off followed closely by a bloody-murder scream that made her wince. She willed her legs to move faster, and soon she saw the Doctor again, not too far ahead of her. He turned and held out a hand, a worried expression on his face. Claudia reached away from the rail and toward his hand, almost falling backward, blinking blood out of her eye. They couldn't stop now. The wolf wouldn't be too far behind.

**BREAK**

Isobel and her maids were silent as they listened to the fighting outside suddenly turn to silence.

"Did they kill it?" Flora asked, her voice shaking. They heard the wolf's growls once more.

"I don't think so," Isobel said, all of them backing into a corner of the room. Isobel wrapped her arms almost protectively around the crouched group as the wolf appeared in the doorway. She screwed up her eyes, waiting for it to attack. She heard the wolf sniff the air before its padded footsteps moved away. She opened her eyes and looked around, confused.

Why had the wolf left them?

**BREAK**

The Doctor, Rose and Sir Robert hurried into a room, the Doctor leading Claudia along behind them. He slammed the door shut as soon as they were through, locking it with his screwdriver. A corridor with a staircase spread out behind them.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Sir Robert called out. Claudia held onto the wall for support, determined to stay on her feet. Queen Victoria came down the stairs.

"Sir Robert! What's happening? I heard such terrible noises," she said. Her eyes fell on Claudia. "Doctor, your daughter needs medical attent—."

"I'm fine!" Claudia snapped. Realizing she just cut off the queen she quickly added, "Sorry."

The Doctor gave Claudia one last worried look before heading off to find an escape route.

"Your Majesty—we've got to get out," said Sir Robert. "But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"

An odd look crossed the queen's face as she slowly responded. "Captain Reynolds disposed of him."

The Doctor came running back toward them. "The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut," he turned to the queen. "Pardon me, Your Majesty—you'll have to leg it out of a window."

He gestures through a door and they all followed the queen into another upstairs room.

"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first," Sir Robert insisted. "The better to assist her Majesty's egress."

"A noble sentiment," the queen started. "My Sir Walter Raleigh."

"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" The Doctor asked impatiently. Claudia was now slumped against the wall, Rose fussing over her, and despite her protests; she was nowhere near 'okay'. If he could just get her back to the TARDIS, he could at least patch up the wounds before anything too serious happened. He was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of gunfire. The Doctor's head snapped up as Sir Robert ducked behind the window sill, the queen beside him.

The Doctor quickly moved over to the window, staring wide-eyed out at the monks, all holding guns.

"I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside," he muttered as Sir Robert joined him in the window.

"Do they know who I am?" the queen shouted indignantly.

"Yep," said Claudia, almost sarcastically.

"That's why they want ya," said Rose hesitantly continuing. "The wolf's lined you up for a…a biting…"

"Now, stop this talk," Victoria snapped. "There can't be an actual wolf."

As if on cue, as soon as the words left her mouth, an ear-splitting howl rang through the house. The group exchanged a look before hurrying out of the room. Claudia stumbled while standing up and the Doctor crouched down, hooked her arms around his neck, grabbed her legs and hauled her onto his back.

"Hold on!" he muttered over his shoulder. She just grunted in response. They went back out into the hallway to find the door almost bending inward on its hinges, the wolf beating it on the other side.

"What do we do?" Rose asked frantically. The Doctor thought for a second, adjusting his grip on Claudia.

"We…run!"

"Is that it?"

"You got any silver bullets?"

"Not on me, no!"

"There we are then, we run," he said, his tone indicating he'd won this argument. He turned to the queen, very aware of Claudia's head almost resting on his shoulder as her grip slackened a little. "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog."

He started to jog in place before adjusting his grip on the ginger girl again. "Good for the health. Come on!"

He ran up the staircase as fast as he could with Claudia on his back. The sound of cracking wood followed them as the wolf finally broke through the door, bounding up the staircase after them.

"Come on! Come on!" the Doctor called behind him, still at the head of the group. Rose came right behind him.

They made it to the top of the stairs and ran through the corridors, the wolf right on their heels. It almost had them, ready to pounce when Captain Reynolds appeared out of nowhere, holding a gun. He shot the wolf, sending it reeling backwards down the corridor. He ducked around the corridor where the others stood, trying to catch their breath.

"I'll take this position and hold it," he said. "You keep moving for God's sake! Your Majesty—I went to look for the property, it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it. It's safe," the queen said, somewhat calming the frantic captain.

"Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor, you stand as her Majesty's protector. And you, Sir Robert—," his voice grew quiet. "You're a traitor to the crown."

He cocked his gun.

"Bullets can't stop it!" the Doctor shouted, realizing what Reynolds was about to do.

"They'll buy you time. Now, run!"

The Doctor nodded, following after the queen and Sir Robert. Rose held back for just a few seconds before following. The group hurried into the library. Rose stopped outside and watched, wide-eyed as the wolf tore Reynolds to pieces.

"Rose!" the Doctor set Claudia down before running out, grabbing Rose around the waist and pulling her inside, the door slamming shut behind them. Claudia hurried with Sir Robert, Rose and the Doctor, trying to barricade the door.

"Wait a minute, shh, shh, wait a minute…" said the Doctor. Breathing heavily, Claudia sank into one of the arm chairs. The wolf howled into silence. "It's stopped."

He stood on one of the chairs barricading the door and pressed his ear against the door. He could hear the wolf snuffling and growling on the other side. Soon it faded as the wolf turned and left.

"It's gone."

Soft footsteps could be heard around the outside of the room.

"Listen…" said Rose. The Doctor climbed quietly down from his chair, listening to the wolf pacing.

"Is this the only door?" he whispered.

"Yes," Sir Robert answered before remembering. "No!"

He and the Doctor dashed to the smaller door and barricade it shut. Rose ''shh'd'' the two of them as they listened to the wolf pacing around the room again. Suddenly it stopped and footsteps padded away into the distance.

"I don't understand," Rose started. "What's stopping it?"

"Something inside this room."

Sir Robert flopped down into one of the chairs barricading the smaller down and put his head in his hands.

"What is it? Why can't it get in?" the Doctor continued.

"I'll tell you what though…" Rose started.

"What?"

"Werewolf…!"

"I know!"

Rose half laughed as the Doctor hugged her tightly.

"You alright?"

"I'm okay, yeah! But I think Claudia's the one you should be worrying about right now!"

The Doctor let her go and went over to kneel next to Claudia's chair. Her face was far too pale under her red hair and her eyes half open. Looking at her side, the Doctor was half-convinced they'd left a blood trail behind them. He scanned over her with his screwdriver, then held it up to look at the readings.

"…Mild concussion…two or three broken ribs…" he muttered, looking closer. "I think the wolf may have grazed one of your lungs in the process…."

He had a feeling it was just the adrenaline keeping her up at this point. She groaned, the left side of her chair turning crimson. He had to get her back to the TARDIS. Now. He was vaguely aware of Sir Robert muttering an apology.

"..I tried to suggest something was wrong, I… thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

"Well, they were bald, athletic…your wife's away, I just thought you were happy," said the Doctor.

The queen looked almost livid. "What, exactly, I pray someone please—what exactly is that creature?"

The Doctor scratched his head. "You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."

"And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?"

"Oh…right, sorry—."

"And what about her?" the queen gestured at Claudia, now unconscious in the chair. "Jenna McKinnon is _clearly_ not her real name. What is it then? Why the cover names? Is she even really your daughter?"

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth before finally responding. "In order: Claudia Smyth, I don't know—impulse, and no, she's not."

The queen fixed him with a glare which made him seem to shrink back like a small child.

"I'll not have it. No, sir—not you…not that thing…none of it. This is not my world."

**Ok, so obviously I couldn't have Claudia up and about for too long considering…I mean, adrenaline can only do so much. Anyway, I should be able to end this in the next chapter (I think) because this one was 9 pages on Microsoft. **


End file.
